Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Last May, I was having lunch in the new courtyard at Nickelodeon (where I work) with writer Andrew Blanchette. There were some guys sandblasting cartoon characters into the concrete benches. Working in the midst of them was a model-pretty woman - not the type you would cast in a blue-collar role, unless it was a "Flashdance" remake. I told Andrew. "We need to go talk to her."

"We need to go talk to her."

And so we met Tara Tarrant, owner of LaJolla Stone Etching. She was
putting the finishing touches on a very impressive Ninja Turtles etching
that wrapped around a bench. So how does a gal like her find herself sandblasting for a living?
Tara gave FLiP the scoop:

"I
come from a long line of artistically gifted individuals, mainly on my
mothers side. My grandmother and mother are amazing oil painters and my
mother is a muralist as well. I believe I must have picked up any
artistic talent that I possess from these amazing and talented
women. I do not have any formal art schooling, but I have always loved art and being creative. It's in the blood!"

Saturday, November 11, 2017

Last month, FLiP's very own Alex Williams won The Cartoon Art Trust Award for Strip Cartooning for his "Queen's Counsel", which has run in The Times of London for the past 25 years. This is a huge honor, the comics equivalent of a BAFTA Award. Alex is typically modest about it, saying, "Actually I felt a bit unworthy about the whole thing."

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Xeth Feinberg, the mad genius behind "Bulbo" and "Papu" tells FLiP about a new venture with his old band, The Prefab Messiahs. It's a new song and animated video called "The Man Who Stole Reality". FLiP approves of this message.

FLiP: Who the heck are the Prefab Messiahs?

Xeth: I like to think of THE PREFAB MESSIAHS as an audio-visual collaborative art project. It seems more respectable and 'sensible' that way.

Thursday, April 13, 2017

Immediately after the November election, I was contacted by Carolyn Bates, a long time friend and colleague. She wanted me to create a public service announcement for a grassroots organization called Our Next 4 Years (ON4Y). I wrote, designed, voiced, and animated a piece called "Make Cheese, Not Walls". Enjoy!

I asked Carolyn some questions about Our Next 4 Years.....

1.What is ON4Y and how did it come to be?

Our Next 4 Years is an all volunteer organization of almost 300 animation
professionals. We are partnering
with progressive organizations in order to create animated PSA’s that can counter
the regressive policies of the current administration. Our group’s members include Oscar,
Emmy, Annie and Humanitas award winners and nominees from studios big and
small.

Following
the election, producer / director, Mike Blum of Pipsqueak Films, reached out to
me and broached a grand idea. Mike was motivated to action after reading a
fervent Facebook post by his animation supervisor, Ramiro Olmos. Ramiro wanted to lend his animation
skills to help support progressive causes and create change. Mike has tremendous creative & organizational
skills and a good dose of chutzpah to make that happen.

I first met John when I was just 16, when I used to tag along with my sketchpad at the life drawing classes that he taught at my father's old animation studio in Soho Square, and later at "The Diorama" Arts Centre in Regent's Park.

John wouldn't just tell you how to improve your work - he would sit down and show you how to make it better. Anyone who attended his class took home his drawings - on the corner of the page, mocking your own unskilled efforts, and encouraging you to do better.

At the time I thought all art teachers did this. It was only later that I found out how few teachers have the confidence and ability to personally correct their students' work. John knew he was better than the rest of us put together, and he didn't hesitate to show you where you had gone wrong.

Thursday, March 2, 2017

Erin K and animation Producer Nathan Erasmus have just released their new video "Assholio", described as a "classic fairytale - classic as in 1600’s nightmarish and disturbing fairytale". And, of course, "who doesn’t want to see a unicorn pig?" The end result is "somewhere in between a super detailed animatic and a simplistic animation; kind of an "anti-mation".

Saturday, July 30, 2016

Sarah Bates' 2007 FLiP article "Animation Brat" was reposted the other day as a precursor to this brand spanking new interview with her, where she talks about her latest online venture, Yay With Me. Sarah has been doing a self-help blog and podcast called Help Me Be Me that is so fantastic, it has prompted me out of my widower's funk and refueled my interest in old passions like FLiP. "Self Help for Animators" is a bit of a misnomer; her blog is not aimed at animators specifically. But it does touch on many emotional and psychological issues creatives wrestle with daily. FLiP: What prompted you to create Yay With Me?

Sarah: Back in 2010 while I was writing commercial scripts and shooting spec spots, Zooey Deschanel asked me to contribute to Hello Giggles, a pop-culture site for women which she and two other savvy gals were about to launch. She’s my best friend since kindergarten, so I immediately said yes though I didn’t know what I was going to do about the content. My first thought was, “I’ll just be hilarious and Tina Fey will hire me on 30 Rock.” I thought my blog would be the perfect forum for promoting myself as a comedy writer – I pictured Tina Fey running across a shoot-out and immediately sending me a plane ticket. That is… until I started writing blogs.

In my opinion – there’s so much fluff out there that is of no value to the world and I didn’t want to make more of it – in other words, listicles are not my style. I started asking myself, first – what do I have to offer strangers that’s of unique value, which as it turned out – was the most important learning I’ve done for myself. Hence, the current content I create for Hello Giggles – a blog called Teaspoon of Happy.

Once I started thinking in terms of value, the blog became about translating the greatest learning I’ve done in my life – all of which came through hardship. That insight – I call it “the why,” - is what I try to give to audiences, because truly it’s the missing link to making change of any kind. You just have to be able to understand what caused the symptom and then you can figure out the solutions. More importantly, you can forgive yourself because you can finally see it’s not your fault, you’re not broken – the blocks you are hitting are the same ones I’d hit, if I lived your exact life experience. Success comes from having the right tools, and a lot of us haven’t been given the right ones from our own lives. Plus, a lot of the catalysts for stuck-ness are painful, complicated, and layered, so I take them apart and make them understandable – in my own words (A lot of them are cuss words). I do a lot of research, but I learned the majority of what I preach through personal experience – including years of therapy with an amazing psychologist that I can’t thank enough. If this were an Oscar ceremony I’d thank Dr. Sharon Flynn – she gave me a gift I can never repay. And if you’re in the LA area – she’s practicing! I highly recommend her to anyone who needs to do some self-work.

Monday, July 25, 2016

The following is a re-post of one of my favorite articles from the old format FLiP, from 2007. Enjoy! - Steveby Sarah May Bates advertising art director/copywriter/voice-over/commercial actress, and former “animation brat”.

When asked to write this, I have to admit I had no idea what the term “animation brat” meant. Animation and animators are really all I’ve ever known and are still a central inspiration and influence in my life. I grew up with “cool” parents, but when you’re a kid, you don’t know that kind of thing. It was just normal to me. For context, my mom is Carolyn Bates (former BG artist at Fred Calvert, Xerox checker at H&B, moved up from Duck Soup Ink & Paint to Disney producer), and my dad is Nick Bates (Vis FX supervisor at Pepper Filmsin Los Angeles)*. Everything cool about me stems from my parents, which in certain social spheres, I don’t necessarily cop to. My first exposure to Miyazaki, John K, Tim Burton, classic Sam Raimi - my parents. I was always inspired to draw, be weird, create.

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Going to the Oscars makes you realise that, while Americans may not be well known for fancy food or having old spectacular cathedrals that are centuries old, they sure do know how to throw a flashy party for the rich and famous (excluding me of course, I am neither unfortunately).

In fact, the only way you’re allowed through security is if you ride a limo through to the entrance gates. I’m really not kidding you, no taxis allowed, no bicycles or hover hoards, you have one way in and out, and that’s being seated in a bloody massive limo. Which is super fun, but while my parents are not impoverished, having to hire a limo (which you have to buy for the whole day) is not exactly cheap for my family. My sister and I look forward to our can of baked beans for our inheritance.

Sunday, March 6, 2016

I was honored recently to be interviewed for The Tiara Talk Show, a podcast series created by Tammy Tuckey. The show is about all things Disney, though it is not a Disney production. Since its premiere in August of 2013, Tammy has done 103 interviews, with the likes of Debbie Reynolds, Ed Asner, Don Hahn, Jerry Rees, Gary Trousdale, and now me. Slow news week, I guess.

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Nancy Beiman, supervising animator at Disney, Professor at Sheridan, and friend of FLiP, has told the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that she is "No Longer Proud to Be a Member of This Organization".

Nancy announced her intention to resign her membership following the new rules which have been hastily introduced following accusations of racism in the current roster of Oscar nominees.

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Animators are film-makers, and it's not unusual to find animators who bridge the gap between animation and live action. Been Garnish, animator and friedn of FLiP, who is responsible for much memorable character and creature animation on films like "Harry Potter", has made a short video titled Retrofit. It's a science-fiction fantasy, set in the near future, "when death is just a new beginning - for those who can afford it."

Monday, December 14, 2015

Bringing some Christmas spirit to FLiP, veteran storyboard artist Amber Tornquist Hollinger shares the adventures of Stewie the Elf, her whimsical creative spin on the Elf on the Shelf phenomenon.

Stewie's Christmas card to Amber's kids.

Stewie, being an Elf on the Shelf, has a whole book to explain his genesis upon arrival to one's home. As it has been told to me, each Elf arrives at each home in his own manner. Last year, right before Christmastime, the family was sitting down eating what could only be described as an out-of-this-world home cooked meal by Mommy. We heard a knock on our front door. When answered, we discovered only a gift bag with no note attached. Inside, it turned out, was said Elf. We sat down in surprise and read the origin-book he had with him, and discovered we needed to name him for him to become part of our family. He was to watch over us and report back to Santa each night. The children-- stoked as shit.

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Animation director Richard Williams recently completed his long-anticipated short film Prologue, premiered at Annecy this past June and recently released in selected theatres in Los Angeles. Tom Sito, Animator, Director, Historian and President Emeritus of the Animation Guild, wrote us a review of the film. As a far as we can tell - this is the first review of "Prologue".

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Animation guru Richard Williams, who directed The Thief and the Cobbler, and was animation director on Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, has released a first look at his new six-minute animated short Prologue. The short film was first screened at Annecy in June of this year, and will be playing soon in selected theatres in Los Angeles. Williams is the author of The Animator's Survival Kit, now the essential textbook for all aspiring animators, as useful for 3D artists as it is for 2D practitioners.

Monday, August 17, 2015

Two years ago, I finished a short film called, "Chief, Your Butt's on Fire". I wrote about it in FLiP as my wife, Donna, submitted it to umpteen film festivals. Thousands of dollars in entry fees later, we had what can be only described as a flop. Only two festivals picked it up.

Was the film that bad?

When I started working on this short, Disney still did hand drawn animated features. By the time I finished, chipping away at it in my spare time over many years, the animation world had changed completely. Festivals were not even accepting film anymore.

So maybe my little film was too old fashioned for today's scene. Or maybe it just sucks. At any rate, here it is, decide for yourself.

Friday, August 7, 2015

"Shaun The Sheep" is a lightweight little movie with gorgeous production design and some very nice animation; a slight plot with the main conflict based on Laurel and Hardy's A CHUMP AT OXFORD; chase scenes and crazy machines reminiscent of Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd films, and a finale that is straight out of Chaplin's THE GOLD RUSH.

This possibly explains the otherwise inexplicable omission of dialogue on the human characters (even gibbberish would have worked, but the odd grunts and squeaks somehow seemed affected.) But I applaud their use of silent comedy influences as well as The Terminator."

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

One of the best things about BAFTA is its focus on regular lectures and seminars on filmmaking.

A recent event at the Picture house Central on London’s Shaftesbury Avenue featured an interview with Cinematographer Ben Davis, whose screen credits include Kick-Ass, Before I Go to Sleep and Guardians of the Galaxy. But why should an animator need to know about cinematography? Because animators are film- makers, and anything that helps you to understand the art of visual story telling will make you better at your craft. And who better to learn from than one of the UK’s best cinematographers?

Thursday, June 25, 2015

The International Festival of Animation at Annecy is the world’s biggest animation festival. It can be a slightly overwhelming experience; there are so many things going on at once that it can be hard to feel like you really get to make the most of being there. Alongside the film festival is MIFA – the world’s biggest animation marketplace, a brain-boiling congress of industry types furiously buying and selling. But Annecy is an event that every animator should go to at least once – if only to get a feeling for the sheer size and diversity of the modern animation industry.

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Friday 19 June was the last day of the MIFA marketplace at Annecy, and also a rare chance to see The Thief and The Cobbler (en Francais: “Le voleur et le cordonnier”) original director’s cut – presented by the director himself. Dad got a standing ovation when he came on stage, and he dedicated the screening to the memory of Ken Harris, one of Chuck Jones’ top animators on the Looney Tunes series and the man responsible for much of the animation of The Thief himself.

Friday, May 29, 2015

Sydney Padua's long awaited graphic novel, The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage, is now on sale. Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage were 19th century inventors who between them pioneered the world's first programmable computer - still in working order in London's Science Museum. To read more about Sydney's book, see our 2013 interview here at FLiP.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

I recently took the Harry Potter Studio Tour at Leavesden, visiting the 80-hectare studio complex which was used for filming the Harry Potter series of films. The tour might sound like a three hour trivia odyssey for Potter fans, but in fact it turned out to be as good an introduction to the art, craft and science of visual effects film-making as almost any amount of classroom instruction - and far more fun.

Monday, March 30, 2015

Our family moved to Hollywood in 1968. We discovered hippies, unconventional life styles and PINKS. We ate at PINKS all the time. It was cheap, really good, and legal. We would order our hot dogs and eat them in our car, which was a 1949 Ford.

About two years ago, I was driving my dad around looking for a place to eat lunch. We were on LaBrea in Hollywood and my dad suggested McDonald's....which sounded horrifying to me. I just kept driving hoping we didn't pass a McDonald's, and then I saw PINKS up ahead. Neither of us had been there in years, even though my dad only lives about 6 blocks away. So I pulled over and parked, extremely happy that he forgot all about McDonald's.